You need dry leaves, fabric paints, plain bodysuits and brushes to make your very own Autumn gifts for new babies!

Leaf printing is so much fun, and now that the leaves are beginning to fall (aren’t the colours spectacular) I wanted to write about leaf printing because I think it is by far one of the most fun crafts, and one that you can get children of all ages involved in. I think that this in particular is the best way to leaf print and is one of the best Autumn crafts for kids that you can keep!

I thought it would be a nice idea to get my hands on some fabric paint and set the boys to work spicing up some vests, t-shirts and bodysuits for baby. What could be sweeter than having hand made outfits for baby to wear and show off, made by big brothers? While we were doing the leaf printing we also did some hand prints which I think are absolutely adorable and will be something to treasure.

I chose to use Dylon fabric paint which you can pick up at any hobby/crafting store, and I chose to use reds, yellows, golds etc to try and fit in with the Autumn leaf theme.

Here is what you will need:

Dylon fabric paints or similar (Dylon are recommend for children, so that’s why I chose them, but avoid anything toxic!)

Paint brush to paint the leaves

Kitchen towel or a cloth to stop hands getting paint on them when you flatten the leaves.

A few Dry leaves – if they are damp then it won’t work so well, so you can always put them on the radiator over a piece of kitchen paper or a tea towel.

A few plain white/cream/pastel bodysuits, t-shirts, vests etc

Here’s how we did it!

I let the boys choose which leaf they wanted to use out of the selection we found on a little wall into the town last week. Then I gave them a bodysuit each to print with. I asked them which colours they would like to use out of the paint selection we had.

We then painted the leaves or leaf we were going to use. I didn’t really give Roo any help with this whole project, he’s capable to do it on his own, but Toby obviously had a lot more help. Try to make sure you get the end of the leaf as well as the main part!!

We then (carefully) placed the painted leaf upside down on the bodysuit in a place of our choosing. The best thing to do then is to lie a piece of kitchen towel over the top of the leaf to allow you to push down without spreading the paint or getting it on your hands.

Push down firmly onto the kitchen towel, it will absorb any excess paint!

Toby loved this bit, and he also loved peeling the leaves away, just make sure you do it slowly and carefully.

The end result. This was so much fun, and for an older child you can buy dylon pens too, so they could even sign their name or draw something for baby. I love them!

I hope you give it a go and enjoy as much as we did, you can use bold colours but be aware that the paint doesn’t tend to show up so well, especially if you are using the child friendly versions. Be prepared for lots of mess, we have a bath as soon as we’ve done anything of this nature and we always cover the surface with a really, really large table cloth or splash mat – a wipeable one!

Harriet x

P.s – My top tip is when you have finished your designs and you have set them aside to dry, you need to take an iron and ‘seal’ the paint in. The only way to do this is to sandwich your design between two pieces of paper and iron over the paper, hold the dry iron for 30 secs. Job done.